A Stackhouse Bed and Breakfast
by PrincessStayPuff
Summary: To help Sam, Sookie takes in another guest at the Stackhouse home. A new friendship forms and, of course, trouble rears its ugly head. Some Dead and Gone spoilers. Come and have some fun with shifters with us! Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first fanfic! Enjoy and please review. Chapter two is already well underway so it shouldn't be too long before I update. And unfortunately, I do not own The Southern Vampire Series, I'm just playing around with Ms. Harris' characters.

It was raining again. This is most certainly not my kind of weather. I am a sun kind of person, I love the feeling of the warm rays on my skin as I sunbathe. Usually one day of rain is enough to make me melancholy. A week of rain, on the other hand, is enough to make me downright angry. A week of multiple double shifts and rain, and I am ready to stay in bed and not get out until summer. Of course, this was not an option. Instead, I was standing on the back porch looking out onto the drive and trying to find the will to get in my car and go back to the bar...on my long overdue day off.

"Just do it so you can come home and get back in bed." Great. Now I'm talking to myself. Fine.

I sprinted to my trusty old car, trying to stay as dry as possible. I turned on the car and started the wipers and lights and began heading down the drive and onto Hummingbird road. It wasn't a long drive, but I couldn't stop my mind from wandering when I was in such a dismal mood. Stupid melancholy rain. All I wanted to do was curl up in bed, preferably with Eric (not that I was particularly happy with him…but he calmed me), and just not think. But that was not a possibility. Eric was still in Las Vegas. He had been there for the past three weeks doing god-knows-what. Since the Fae War, the supe community had been running less than smoothly. Of course, when an entire race disappears from the face of the earth (with few exceptions) things are bound to be a little crazy. It had been about 3 months now since Niall closed off his world from ours, and the effects were still being felt.

The first response from the vampires was skepticism. Then paranoia. A rumor started somewhere that the fairies had left to prepare an all-out attack on vampires to finally end their less than friendly co-existence and become the dominant species. Needless to say, vampires the world over started preparing for war. And that's when I lost Eric and Bill. Being that they witnessed and participated in the war, and knew Niall, they became the spokesmen for the "calm the fuck down" movement that vamp royalty was trying to press upon the masses. Their efforts were started here, but it soon became apparent that they needed be in Nevada with the big dogs. And since they were both still gone, I assumed that the situation had not yet died down.

The worst part was that I had barely had a chance to see or speak with either of them before they left. Eric was there, of course, to help me while I healed, but he always seemed side-tracked. But now both he and Bill were gone, and aside from a bi-nightly phone call, I had no contact with either.

So for the past week I had been trying to avoid self-pity. And that would be my mission today as well. I would go to the bar. I would go because Sam asked me to, and right now, Sam was all I had, so I wouldn't let him down. I would go and see whatever it is that was so urgent that I had to drag my butt off my couch and away from Buffy reruns (that's right...not happy with vamps at the moment) and Ben and Jerry's...ok, so the "no self-pity" plan wasn't working as well as I had hoped. But that ends the moment I pull into the parking lot, which was happening at this very moment.

The bar was packed. Thank goodness Sam took pity on me and let me have Friday off in exchange for a week of doubles, I could not handle the Friday night drunks. But as I walked down the hall and made it to Sam's office I felt like my night wasn't going to be any better, even if I wasn't serving pitchers and margaritas. His door was closed. Sam never closes his office door. This, combined with his desperate/pleading voice on the phone told me that I did not want to go into his office. But I was a good friend gosh dang it, and I promised to help. One more deep breath and I opened the door.

No dead bodies. That was good. No vampires...even better. Nobody was crying or bleeding or had a gun. Okay. I can do this. The office looked exactly the same as it always did, with only one addition. A woman I had never seen before. After a quick mental check I also concluded that she was a shifter and did not seem to be a bad mood at all. In fact, she was smirking at me. After assessing that no one was in immediate danger, I really looked at her. She had a muscular physique that was very apparent even as she was sitting down. She wore faded, but fitted, jeans and white tank top and had thrown a leather jacket over the back of her chair. On the floor, next to her (very high) heel clad feet was a large duffle bag with a strange image that I couldn't quite make out on the side. All of this I noticed while also staring at her beautiful hair. Curly and pulled into a pony tail high on her head. And red. A beautiful shade of strawberry blond that I had only seen on one other person in my life. And he was sitting across the desk from her, smiling at me and begging me with his eyes as he finally spoke up:

"Sook. This is Victoria. My half-sister."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I told you Chapter Two wasn't far away. Please forgive any grammar and spelling mistakes, I'm proof reading this myself and it's late.

"Nice to meet you Sookie. You can call my Tori." She said as she stood to take my hand while giving me a pleasant smile. Her voice was deep, but lovely and friendly. I instantly relaxed. Nothing about this situation seemed nearly as desperate as Sam had led me to believe.

"Can I talk to Sookie for a minute?" Sam spoke to Tori this time. She gave him a slight nod as she rose and headed for the door.

"Grab a drink at the bar. On the house." He added as she closed the door behind her.

"She seems nice Sam. But I don't remember you ever mentioning her before. Is this why you called me down here?" I had dozens of questions running through my head, I didn't know which one I wanted answered first.

"Yeah, she's why I called you down here. And no, I don't think I have told you about her. Me and her have the same dad but different moms. Honestly, I haven't really known about her very long either. I always knew it was possible I had siblings I didn't know about; but when I was visiting shifter websites before the were revelation we stumbled onto one another. We've been pen pals of sorts since then." He ran his hand through his hair and gave a shy smile a little as he ended his explanation. I could hear the guilt he was feeling, I presumed it was for not telling me before.

"So she's visiting? That's nice." I didn't quite understand what all this had to do with me.

"Well…she just lost her job she had in California. She just showed up here tonight. I didn't really know what to do." He paused seemed to consider his next move. "I need a favor cher." His forehead was scrunched up as he looked at me, pleading again. This can't be good.

"Well what can _I_ do, Sam?" I was not liking this at all.

"Sook, I got nowhere to put her. My trailer doesn't have a lot of privacy or room for a guest. I'd put her up in one of my buildings but they're all occupied right now. She'll only be here for a week or so. Until she can find a job and get her own place. I promise you she's a real nice girl and I don't think she'll be any trouble at all. Please Sook? I gotta help her, she's family." He was rambling now. But if anyone knew about responsibility to family, it was me.

"Sam. I don't know if that is such a good idea. I haven't been at my best these last couple months. I'm in no position to play hostess to your long lost sister." _Don't make me do this Sam .Please. _

"Sookie, you know I wouldn't be asking you for this unless it was important. Besides, it might be good for you to have some company, pull you out of this funk you've been in lately." I just wanted out at this point. I was tired and I wanted to go home. Apparently fatigue makes me consider the unwelcome requests of my friends.

"I'm not promising anything Sam. She can stay with me tonight, but tomorrow, if I decide it's not going to work it, she has to leave. Got it?" _Let me go home Sam. Don't push me._

He broke out in a big genuine grin and pulled me into a bear hug. I stood there limply and allowed him to hug, giving only a half-hearted pat to his back. Sensing my mood, he let me go and went to the open the door, finding Tori leaning against the wall opposite the door.

"She said it was ok." Oh great, they had already discussed this. So if I had said no I would have turned out to be the bad guy. Tori stepped into the office and grabbed me for a quick, but tight, hug. Maybe she was a related to Sam; they were equally enthusiastic about this development.

"Thank you so much! You're a life saver. I promise I won't be any trouble!" She was beaming at me. If I was being honest with myself, I knew that she seemed like a genuinely grateful and kind girl. But I was in a bad mood; so Tori just seemed annoying. Oh well, I'll lock the door to my bedroom.

"Well come on. Grab your stuff, my car's out back." I motioned to the door and she quickly threw her bag over her shoulder and made her exit out the office and through the employee's door.

"Bye Sam." My farewell was less than enthusiastic. Slamming the office door, on the other hand, was entirely hostile and childish, but it made me feel better.

Outside, the rain was still relentless. Tori was standing under the eve of the roof waiting. I made a mad dash to my car, assuming she would follow. As soon as the doors were unlocked, I was inside and watching Tori as she threw her bag into the backseat and took up her position in the passenger seat. I started the car without ceremony and pulled out of Merlotte's.

We had only been in the car for a couple minutes before the silence became uncomfortable. I barely knew this woman but I had no desire to strike up a conversation in an effort to get to know more. But I had to do something about this silence. I turned up the radio so it could be heard over the pounding of the rain on the car. I didn't really care what was playing, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it was still on the soft music station I had been listening to last night. The car quickly filled with James Blunt's ballad, and I kept driving.

"You know. It was this song that originally started the speculation that James Blunt was a vampire." Tori stated out of the blue. The silence was broken, but I couldn't find it in me to be annoyed. I was just curious.

"What are you talking about?" Ok, so my voice may have conveyed that I thought she was crazy, but I was still in a bad mood.

"Oh come on. Everybody's heard that rumor. When the vamps came out everyone started speculating about which celebs were closet bloodsuckers. So when someone heard this song, they accused James of being a vamp. After all the tabloid speculation he finally came out. Said the song was about his lover dying and how he had contemplated meeting a 'beautiful dawn' and going crazy." Ok. So I had never heard James Blunt was a vampire. But if I recall, he did have suspiciously pale skin, I guess anything was possible.

"Hmm. Interesting" Was all I could manage while keeping a cordial tone. I turned the stereo up and rode the rest of the way listening to James. It made sense to me. No normal guy should be able to hit those notes.

We pulled around the back of the house and I shut off the car. I looked over at the empty space where Amelia had parked her car when she lived here. Once again I was filled with the loneliness that had plagued me since my friend had left. I understood her motivation. She said that everything in Bon Temps reminded her of Tray and she needed to be away from that so she could grieve and move on. Conveniently, her place in New Orleans had just been finished. So she left. She promised she wouldn't be gone long, that Bon Temps was her home now, even if Tray wasn't here. But I still missed her. I was even starting to miss Octavia…just a little bit. Geeze, with all the people that end up living in my house I might as well open it up as a bed and breakfast.

The rain was still coming down so we both bolted for the door to the back porch and took off our mudding shoes before stepping into the kitchen and flipping on the lights. I walked her around the first floor showing her the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom, and everything else she might need.

"This place is great. You have a beautiful home." She was smiling at me again. Now I know she's just trying to brown nose. I hadn't had a chance to clean much in the past few days and it was starting to show. "I know it's late and you're really tired. Why don't you just show me where I can sleep and I'll let you get to bed."

This brought up a new problem. I would normally give a guest the upstairs room where Amelia had stayed. It just seemed wrong to have someone other than Amelia there, it was _her _room now; and I knew she would come back to it. The other room upstairs wasn't appropriate be anybody's bedroom, it was more of a second living room only left one option. I led Tori to my old room that was across from the one I used now.

"You can stay in here. I'm just across the hall if you need anything." And with that I walked into my room, shut the door (locked it too), donned my fluffiest pajamas, and crawled into bed. I was out for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Just so you all know, I'm not sure there's gonna be a lot of vamp stuff in this story. I'm mostly just gonna have some fun with shifters, but we'll see where it goes. I hope you guys are enjoying this, I promise I'll be getting more into the action in the next couple chapters. Until then, please review and tell me what you're thinking or what you'd like to see. As always, the amazing Charlaine Harris owns all the rights to Sookie and her story.**

It was going to be a better day today. I knew this as soon as I woke up. I was going to _make _today better. Last night I had dreamed of Gran. It didn't happen often, but when it did it was enough to make me miss her terribly. It was exactly what I needed. Seeing her smile again and laugh reminded me of who I was. Right now, I was ashamed of how I treated Tori last night. She had done nothing wrong and I had been a rude host. If Gran was watching, I hope she wasn't too disappointed in me.

Rolling over to look out the window, I realized that any efforts on my part to make today better would not be needed. It wasn't raining. It was still early yet, so the light was still a little off, but there was sun. That's all I needed. I got out of bed and put on some of my favorite jeans and a pretty pink shirt and made my way to the kitchen. Since I wasn't working until tomorrow, I decided I was start off my good day with some pancakes. It would be a peace offering to Tori. But as soon as I opened the door to my room I was accosted with the smell of bacon and coffee. _Oh yes, today would be a good day._

"Well, you didn't try to murder me in my sleep and you made me coffee. You can stay as long as you like." I walked into the kitchen to find Tori in a very short pair of spandex shorts and a baggy black shirt. Her ensemble was completed by knee high, bright yellow, socks. _Who is this girl?_

"Oh. I hope you don't mind. I usually only sleep for a few hours, I got bored. Do you like pancakes?" She turned from the stove with a spatula in her hand to look at me.

"Of course. Who doesn't like pancakes?" I smiled at her and she returned mine with her own. Ok, now I feel guilty. "Listen, about last night, I'm really sorry about how I acted. I should have…" She stopped me by raising her hand and turning to look at me again.

"Don't. There's really no need to apologize. I probably would have walked right out of Sam's office last night had I been in your position. Thank you so much for letting me stay here. Now sit down and have some coffee. Pancakes with be done in a minute." Who was I to turn down good coffee? I fixed myself a cup and sat down to watch her work. After a few sips, Tori set a plate down in front of me and took the seat across the table with her own pile of food. Maybe now that would be a good time to siphon some information from her.

"So Sam said you're here because you lost your job. Where were you working in California?" I hope she wasn't offended by the topic, but it seemed like a good place to start. She chuckled a little so I relaxed.

"I wasn't really working in California. That's just where I had an apartment. I was working all up and down the west coast. I was in a shifter Circus." She smiled at me and my confused expression.

"It's pretty much the same thing as a regular circus, except with us, the majority of the animals were actually shifters. We had a pretty good act. Imagine an animal that knew exactly what it was supposed to do, rather than having to train it to do. But when the weres came out, people started to suspect that's how we were doing all these amazing tricks. When we admitted that we were shifters, all they wanted to do was see us shift and change back. The tricks lost all their grandeur." She looked sad when she said this, but that was fixed right away by shoving a huge bite of pancake into her mouth and wiping away a small drop of syrup that dribbled down her chin.

"So they shut it down then?" I didn't want to push, but I was still curious.

"Are you kidding me? No. It's doing better than ever now. But it's not a circus anymore. It's more of a freak show. It's not about the acts anymore, the real show is the actual shifting. I just couldn't do that. I worked hard to be good at those stunts and all of a sudden it didn't matter. So I left." She shoved a piece of syrup coated bacon into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

"But that's not really why I left. My douche of a boyfriend cleaned out our apartment, took all the money I had saved up and left while I was out of town. I couldn't pay my rent anymore so I had to leave. And ever since I met Sam, he was talking about Bon Temps and how much he loved it here, so I decided to give it a try." She shrugged, piled the last bit of pancake on her fork and shoveled it into her mouth. I had just finished my own plate, but I sat there sipping my coffee and thinking. _Men complicate everything._

I couldn't really hear what she was thinking, but I could tell she was sad. Whether it was the ex-boyfriend or her lost job that was the cause, I didn't know. Maybe if I could keep her talking then she would cheer up.

"So how long were you with the circus?" She talked about it like she knew it pretty well, but she looked young, so she couldn't have been there long. She looked up from pushing syrup soaked crumbs around her plate and gave me a little smirk.

"You know how kids say they'll run away and join the circus? Well I actually did. My mom died when I wall 11…cancer…and my dad had left a few years earlier. So I ended up in foster care. When I was 14 I changed for the first time. I only came back home to get my clothes and things and then I ran away. I found my way to the circus and the people there sorta became my family. I'd been there for seven years when I left." Her eyes glazed over a little and I could tell she was reminiscing. "There was this one kid, Stevie, he was only a couple years older than me. Man, watching him change was the funniest thing. He was this tall scrawny guy; he reminded me of Shaggy from Scooby Doo, anyways, he would turn into this huge elephant. It was just hard to imagine that giant animal in that skinny kid." She was giggling to herself now, I chuckled a little too. But this only brought up another question.

"So what do you change into?" I wasn't sure if this was an inappropriate question of not. I hadn't had the need to socialize too much with shifters; whenever I was around them I was usually too concerned about my own survival to make small talk.

"Well, I can do about anything; but my favorite is a weasel." I hadn't expected that.

"A weasel? Why?"

"I don't know. Why is Sam a dog? It's not really a choice you consciously make. But I like scampering around and weaving around furniture. I feel really sneaky." She was giggling again. Now that I thought about it, I guess I picture her as a weasel. She was cute and seemed a little excitable.

She stood and started collecting the dishes, so I rose to help her. We cleaned up breakfast chatting about her life in California and all the places she'd visited on the coast. She mentioned she liked Seattle best, but that just made me think of Bill. She noticed the change in my mood and I ended up telling her my history with men. I usually wouldn't have shared like this, but Tori reminded me so much of Sam, I just wanted to be her friend.

When the kitchen was spotless, we sat down and finished the pot of coffee and continued to chat. The sun was making a more prominent appearance now that it was getting to be the afternoon and I couldn't help but think of my tan that had been seriously neglected in the past week.

"I think I'm gonna go lay out in the sun. You're welcome to join me if you like." I was putting the cups in the sink and turned around to get to her response.

"Actually, I was gonna head up to Shreveport and look for a job. Sam said I could use his truck and in exchange I told Sam I'd come in and help out in the bar later tonight and tomorrow, so I won't be home till late." She stood and made her way out of the kitchen. "But catch some rays for me while you're at it!" She called to me before closing the door to her room.

I slipped into my own room and pulled out my little blue bikini and pulled my hair up into a high pony tail. Adding a pair of sandals and grabbing my newest romance I skipped into the back yard and sat down in my chaise to relax. I could put off cleaning until the sun started to set, I wasn't about to waste this.

A couple minutes later I heard the crunch of gravel and looked up to see Sam pulling up the back of my house. He hopped out and strode over to where I was lounging.

"Hey cher." It sounded more like a question than a greeting.

"Hey Sam." I smiled up at him. "Yes, she can stay. I'm sorry I was such a pain last night. I know you wouldn't have asked me if you had any other options." A gave him a friendly smile and he visibly relaxed, letting out of breath he had been holding.

"Aw thanks Sook. I don't know what I would do without you." As if on cue, Tori came out the back door and exchanged a quick greeting with Sam before waving bye to me and getting into his truck. Sam made his way back to the driver's side and called out to me as he pulled away.

"Bye Sookie. Thanks again! I'll see you tomorrow!" I waved but didn't have time to respond before they were well down the drive. So I laid back and closed my eyes, feeling the warm of the sun soaking into my skin and melting away the bad mood that I had had for the past week.

**A/N: Review! What kind of animal would you shift into???**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So here's another chapter for you. Sorry it's not too eventful, it's mostly just setting stuff up, but I did throw in a vamp for you…I couldn't resist. ****PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!**

**Disclaimer: Charlaine Harris owns all the rights to the Sookie Stackhouse books.**

I must have fallen asleep lying in the sun. I woke up to find the sun getting ready to set. _Hopefully I won't have a sunburn_. I quickly gathered up my book and put away my chair, heading inside to make some dinner and clean up a bit.

I started in the living room, picking up, dusting and vacuuming. I soon made my way to my bedroom and bathroom and ended up in the kitchen. I settled for a turkey sandwich and some veggies for dinner. By the time I cleaned up my plate and made my way into back into the living room to continue in my book, it was dark outside.

I read a good six chapters before I realized that I needed to stop reading romance. All it did was serve to work me up. I threw the book on the coffee table and turned on the TV instead. _Ah ha! News! _That would make me feel productive, like I was keeping up with the world. I tucked myself further into the couch and threw my ugliest blanket over my feet to listen to the anchor.

National news was full of the same; war, illness, presidential speeches, failing economy, etc. _Ok, I need to stop watching the news too, it just makes me depressed._ Then local news started. Again, much of the same; car crashes, murderer caught, children doing some kind of community service project, etc. But then a familiar symbol popped up over the anchors right shoulder as a new story started and I turned it up to hear it better…

"Members of the nationwide religious organization the Fellowship of the Sun are flocking to Louisiana this week. A large rally is set to take place outside of New Orleans this Thursday. The group claims that the objective of this rally is to spread awareness of the dangers of Vampire-Human marriages and the alleged rise in crimes against humans by vampire-Americans. Those who wish to attend the rally can find the information on the Fellowship of the Sun website. In other news…three prominent figures in the Louisiana vampire community have been reported missing…" Three knocks on the back door drew my attention away from the reporter.

I knew it had to be someone familiar, few people knew I almost exclusively used the back door, but I checked the window anyways to find there was no car (other than my own) in the driveway. Now I couldn't decide if I was more curious or suspicious.

"Not that I don't appreciate your heightened survival skills, but just standing here is starting to get old." I couldn't help but smirk a little at the familiar dry tone. I stepped over to the door and opened it to find a leather clad Pam inspecting her nails.

"Hey Pam, come on in. Can I get you a blood?"

"Why thank you Sookie." She stepped past me and settled into one of the chairs at the kitchen table, watching as I got her a bottled blood and heated it. I gave her the bottle and glass and sat down with my own sweet tea at the table.

"So what brings you to Bon Temps on a Saturday night?" I thought it was a little strange for her to be here on what must be a busy night at Fangtasia.

"My master demanded I come to see you. He was unable to reach you last night and was worried. I told him that you were probably just angry at him for some reason and needed space." She had the hint of a smirk playing at her lips. I couldn't tell if it was because she was proud of her Dear Abby advice or if she was hopping I would dish about some problem in me and Eric's relationship.

"Oh shoot! I must have missed his call. I had a busy night and went to bed early." _Take that Pam! You'll get no information from me with which to torture Eric…not that there was any information in the first place._

"Yes, well, be more careful next time. I can't be your babysitter every time he leaves town." _Geeze Pam, Bad mood tonight?_

"Are you ok, Pam?"

"In a word: no. I had to leave a succulent little brunette back at the club. She worked at a Coach store; I would have gotten a discount." She scowled a little. "I needed new scarves." She muttered under her breath as she brought the bottle up to her lips for another sip. "But that's just the…what's the expression… 'cherry on my sundae'? I'm also dealing with a couple Sherriff's seconds being missing. We're pretty sure it's the fellowship collecting some sacrifices for their rally. We're just having some trouble hunting down the little miscreants."

I didn't realize how late it was until I heard the front door open and Tori come in. She walked right into the kitchen and stopped as soon as she spotted Pam.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't know you'd still be awake." She looked over at Pam. "Hi. I'm Tori." She gave Pam a nod and walked over to the fridge and got a bottle of water before leaning against the counter.

"Hey Tori, this is my friend Pam. She's Eric's second." Tori knew about Eric from our talk this morning and I saw the recognition on her face as she processed this.

"Oh hey! Nice to meet you! I'll let you ladies talk, I'm off to bed." She gave us both a quick smile. "See you in the morning Sookie!" She backed out of the door and headed for her room.

"Well well well Sookie, who is the adorable little shifter?" Pam was getting a slightly hungry look in her eyes. What is it with Pam and my roommates?

"That's Tori. She's Sam's half-sister. She's staying with me while she's looking for a job. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't bat for your team. Besides, I thought you didn't go for shifters or Weres?" I was under the impression that vampires and Weres hated each other.

"Well they do have better stamina than humans." She was sipping at her blood again. "And it's been a while since I had a nice red head. You know Sookie, god speaks through the burning bush." She gave me a full smirk and downed the last of her blood before leaning back in her chair and looking at me. _What was that supposed to mean…Oh!...Ew! _

"PAM! How dare you speak like that in my house! This is a Christian house!"

"Don't worry Sookie. I should be getting back to the bar anyways, but feel free to put in a good word for me with the shifter." She gave me a wink before disappearing out my back door.

I rinsed out her bottle and locked the back door. I decided I might as well go to bed early and get a good night of sleep. I turned off all the lights and made my way to my bedroom. Curling up under my old quilt I fell asleep wondering what tomorrow would bring.

**A/N: So yeah, somebody actually used the burning bush line on my red headed sister in a poor attempts at a pick-up. So…Review and tell me the worst pick-up line someone used on you. **

**Hope you're all having a great weekend!!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Psych! I bet you thought I wasn't gonna update today! Well, since it's not midnight yet where I live I'm gonna say that I haven't broken my pattern of at least once a day updates. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampire Series.**

Since I went to bed early, I couldn't justify sleeping in late. Instead, I got up to make breakfast for myself and Tori. First things first…coffee. Grind, fill, turn on, brew, and enjoy.

_Ahhhhhh._ Ok, Caffeine need has been met. I decided a conventional breakfast would work today, no need to get fancy with pancakes or waffles. As soon as the bacon was done and I started breaking eggs into the skillet, Tori joined me in the kitchen.

"You know," She paused and yawned, "I could have made breakfast again. I can't believe I slept this late." She was in her yellow socks again, but today she was sporting an oversized Sleep-shirt with a smiling Hershey's kiss on it.

"Good morning. It's really no problem, I make breakfast for myself all the time when you're not here." I offered her a cup of coffee as she grabbed a piece of bacon and took a seat at the table to wait for the eggs.

"So what are your plans for today. More job hunting?" I popped a small piece of bacon into my own mouth as I turned around to get her answer.

"No actually, I'm helping Sam out at the bar later tonight, he says he has a bunch of paperwork to catch up on. I figured I'd go get some groceries with the tips I made last night, do what I can to earn my keep." She looked sheepish and sipped at her coffee.

"That's really not necessary, but if it'll make you feel better go ahead. I probably don't have everything you like anyways." I really didn't want her to feel guilty. I knew she didn't have much money for rent or anything, so I just handed her a plate with eggs and took my own seat at the table.

Breakfast went by quickly and I agreed to drive Tori into town and drop her at the store while I ran my own errands. We both cleaned up, quickly got ready, and were out the door before 9:30. I dropped Tori off at the store and promised to pick her up in half an hour. I headed to the library to exchange my books and made my way over to Tara's store to check in on her. She was starting to show and was finally excited about being pregnant, she was determined to be a good mother. I stayed and talked with her for a few minutes and we discussed the baby shower that I promised to throw for her. By the time I left, I needed to get back to the store to get Tori.

When I got back to the store, Tori was standing outside by the door waiting. She spotted me and started to make her way over to me before a man, just exiting the store, slammed right into her. Both her and her bags seemed to receive minor damage. The man, however, dropped his bag and spilled about six boxes of hot pockets onto the ground, but managed to keep a good hold on the case of cheap beer he held in his other hand. Though I was too far away to hear exactly what was being said, I saw Tori stoop to help him. He also bent down, but pushed Tori's hands away and made to pick up his things himself. Tori grabbed her bags (a little violently) and made her way over to the car. After placing her bags in the trunk, she crawled into the front seat and stared at me with her jaw hanging open.

"I cannot believe that guy! I was just trying to apologize and help him and he starts calling me kinds of names and says I need to 'pull my head out of my ass'," she used air quotes here, "and watch where I'm going! Asshole!"

"Well, if it's any consolation, I've never met anyone in this town that would be that blatantly rude…and I've never seen that man before." I felt bad that she hadn't been here very long and my town was being portrayed so poorly.

We rode the rest of the way home listening to music. Apparently none of the artists that were played had dark secrets that Tori felt the need to disclose, so we didn't talk much until we reached the house. Tori unloaded the groceries and I helped her unpack them. We made polite conversation and I agreed that she could ride with me to work since we would both be at the bar tonight. After that, we went our separate ways; her to her room and me to my chaise to read a few chapters in my new book before work.

All too soon, it came time to get ready for work, so I went inside to take a shower and don my usual white shirt and black shorts. Tori had a similar outfit but wore a plain white shirt instead of the usual Merlotte's shirt. We gave each other an approving nod and made our way to the car and drove to the bar.

Inside the bar, it was busy, but not overly so; about the usual for a Sunday night. Tori and I both dropped out purses into Sam's desk and she went out to relieve Sam from the bar while I went to check on my section and say hi to Holly, who was also working tonight. It was always harder to block people thoughts after being gone; as the night went on and I got more tired I was letting some slip through that I usually would have been able to block.

_New girl's pretty hot but she's staying with Sookie so she's probably trouble…really shouldn't be eating greasy fries but they're so damn good…I say fuck him and his fucking hot pockets…_

The last one caught my attention. It was a voice I had never heard before and pretty loud broadcaster, so I scanned the bar until I spotted him. He was an average looking guy who had just walked in and taken a seat in my section, the only noticeable thing about him was a black eye that looked rather fresh. I walked over to get his order.

"Hello. What can I get for you tonight?"

_Jesus Christ look at the tits on her! Fuck. I may just sit here awhile. Doug can go fuck himself, I was on watch all afternoon anyways…think I'd rather sit here and watch this sweet thang…_

"Cheeseburger with everything and extra fries. I'll take a coke too."

"No problem. I'll have that right out!" Something about this guy was really setting off alarms for me. As he handed me his menu back I noticed a bunch of scratches on his hands too. What had this guy been doing? And what had he been watching?

I brought him his drink and let it go while I placed the order and checked on my other tables. It was a good five minutes before I took notice of the man again when he checked his phone, he looked flustered so I listened in again.

_God damn it Vince. Have some fucking patience. I only been gone twenty minutes. I ain't leavin' till I get my fucking burger, I don't care what the fuck is going on. I been livin' on Doug's fucking hot pockets for three god damn days. I swear to god if I don't get some fucking food in me that STAYS in me I'm gonna let loose that fanged bitch on both of 'em. _

Well shit.

"Order Up!" Great. I picked up the burger and heaping pile of fries and made my way back to his table.

"There you go. Can I get you anything else?"

"Nope. That's it." _Less you wanna hop in my truck with me for desert._

"Ok. Enjoy!" I gave him my best fake smile and walked over to the bar where I could pretend to work and listen at the same time. Unfortunately, all I could get out of him this time were some graphic images of what he'd like to do to me and some commentary about how delicious his burger was compared to "fucking hot pockets". Come on, I get it already, you hate hot pockets. Luck seemed to be on my side because his phone rang again and went over to refill his drink and listen in on his side of the conversation.

"Yeah yeah yeah. I'll be right there. I got caught in traffic." He stopped to listen to the person on the other line and gave me a quick glance. He lowered his voice before he answered. "Well no shit! I wouldn't be happy if I was them neither…It's fine, I'll be there in a few." He hung up and asked me for the check. I handed it to him as he dug in his pants for his wallet.

_Winey fucking zealots don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. I'd rather work with fucking blood-heads than these dipshits. At least they don't piss themselves every time a vamp makes some fucking noise. He's chained in silver! What the fuck else do you expect him to do?_

He handed me a fifty dollar bill. Thank god he needed change; it would give me more time. I made my way behind the counter and got Tori's attention.

"Tori, that man at my table's kidnapped a vampire. I can't just let him leave. I gotta follow him. My tables are almost empty but can you cover for me?" I kept my head down and tried not to make it to obvious that I was carrying on a conversation.

"Like hell you're following him by yourself. I'm coming with you." She took my hint and continued filling a pitcher as she spoke to me.

"You can't leave the bar. Someone's gotta tend it." Shoot. It would be nice to have someone else with me. I didn't know what I'd be getting myself into.

"I'd get Sam to take over but he just went out to his trailer to take a call from his mom." She was trying to crane her neck around to see if Sam had returned to his office yet, no such luck.

"Shoot. If you need to go I can take over till closing." Terry had just walked in and stepped up to the bar and only caught the last bit of our conversation. Did I ever mention how much I love Terry?

"Thanks Terry! You're a lifesaver! I gotta go too, can you tell Holly to cover my section, it's almost cleared out now?" He gave me an affirmative nod and I turned to Tori who was looking at me questioningly.

"You go get our purses out of Sam's office. My keys are in the outside pocket. Get my car and meet me around front. I'm gonna go give him his change."

I walked back over to his table, Tori casually brushing past me on her way to the back.

"Here's your change! You have a good night." I started picking up his plates as he put his cash back in his pocket. As soon as he had stood up and made his way out the door, I set the plates back down and followed, making sure he didn't spot me before he climbed into his truck and started for the exit of the parking lot. Like clockwork, Tori pulled around the side of the bar and stopped just long enough for me to jump in the passenger seat before speeding off after the man who hates hot pockets.

**A/N: Dun Dun Dun! First, I would like to apologize to all you hot pocket fans out there, I'm not implying that all bad guys eat hot pockets. Second, longest chapter yet, review and tell me how it was! Third, review and tell me one awful food that you can't stand.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Ok. Don't kill me with the cliffy on this one. I'm starting chapter 7 as soon as I post this and will hopefully have it up some time tonight. And yes, I know I didn't update yesterday, but patience is a virtue.**

**Disclaimer: Charlaine Harris owns the Sookie Stackhouse Series.**

We followed at a distance to make sure he didn't spot us. I kept a mental check on him as we drove to make sure he wasn't suspecting anything. Mostly he wasn't thinking, just singing along to golden oldies and being oblivious to the rest of the world.

His truck led us out of Bon Temps and onto a small country road that led in the general direction of Shreveport. I started to wonder if that's where we were going, but five minutes into the drive, his truck slowed and turned onto a dirt road that we could have easily missed if he hadn't been leading us.

We pulled over to the side of the road instead of turning in; our presence on such a private drive wouldn't have gone unnoticed. Shutting off the engine, we could hear the sounds of a swamp off to the side, confirming that the driveway wasn't very long. I wanted to go straight up to the house. To knock on the door, somehow incapacitate the men inside, and rescue whoever it was they were keeping hostage. But if I had learned one thing in the past few years, it was that backup was always a nice thing to have. The knowledge that I hadn't even had vampire blood in several weeks, and the effects were all but gone by now, steeled my decision. I pulled out my phone.

Ring. Ring. Ring. _Pick up pick up pick up!_

"I am obviously not available right now. If you should feel the need to annoy or possibly anger my with your problems, by all means…leave a message." _Damn it. Voicemail._

"Pam! Please call me back! Me and Tori are out in the middle of nowhere somewhere between Bon Temps and Shreveport, we followed some guy from the bar and I know he's got some vampires chained up with silver. It would really be nice if you could be here to help. Call me as soon as you get this!" Well, crap.

"Now what?" Tori had been silent this whole time to let me think through the situation, apparently I was the one running this show.

"I need to get closer. If I can hear what their thinking then maybe I get more information for Pam when she gets here." Something just occurred to me. "Hey, how come you're not freaking out about me being a telepath?" I'd told her all of the man's thoughts on the drive to fill her in, she hadn't asked one question or even seemed shocked about it.

"Oh," Her eyes had gotten wide and she paused. "Sam kinda let it slip. Besides, who am I to judge? And I think there are more important matters on our plate right now." She grinned at me. "Come on!" Before I could protest, she had hopped outside and quietly closed the door behind her.

I followed her lead and we slowly crept down the driveway, staying close to the side and hiding in the branches and brush that hung over into the path. It wasn't long before we heard noise that could only be a radio or TV. Turning around a bend in the drive, we spotted the source.

A small shack stood about fifty yards ahead of us. It was only one story and had an old, rusted, tin roof. There were two cars parked a little ways away from the house. One was a green pickup, the one we had followed here, and the other was a white van with no windows in the back; its bumper sticker read "God Hates Fangs". It might as well say "I'm a FotS Member". This was the place.

Half the windows were dark and shut up, while the other half were wide open, lights being emitted from the window were low and changing rapidly; somebody was watching TV. Good, they wouldn't' be paying attention. I crouched down, motioned to Tori to follow, and slipped around the house to settle under the window. I felt Tori join me a second later, but I was already concentrating on the inside of the little house.

There were four active brains, but all thoughts were focused on the movie. I reached out past them and into the other room. _Aha!_ Two voids. I leaned over to Tori to tell her what I'd found as quietly as possible. There was really no point though, the television was blaring and people were screaming in whatever they were watching. They were making this too easy.

Tori motioned upwards toward the window and slowly stood up to peek over the edge of the window. She stayed there for a second before giving me a thumbs up to join her. As I glanced inside I noticed that all four men had their backs to us, squeezed onto a tiny sofa. It took me only a moment to figure out what it was they were watching, Jurassic Park. Shoot, I used to like that movie.

I was just about to stand up a little more to get a better look at the men, or what I could see of them, when a cell phone went off. Terror struck as I remembered that I had told Pam to call me back. I flopped back on the ground and started hitting the side of the bulge in my pocket while simultaneously trying to reach inside to grab it, hoping something would shut it off. My squirming was interrupted by the television being silence and moments later someone inside talking.

"Hello…Yep, it all went according to plan…Sure that's not a problem…Ok, I'll let everyone know…You too, see you tomorrow."

By this time, Tori had also settled back on the ground and was holding her hand over her mouth trying to stifle the laughter that had consumed her as soon as we had both realized we had not been discovered. Traitor. I pulled out my cell and quickly set it to vibrate as I listened to the conversation that was taking place inside.

"That was Steve. He said they got three down there and we're supposed to meet up tomorrow at the warehouse. He says they've got it all set up, all we need to do is deliver the bloodsuckers and we're done."

"Great! I'm starting to get sick of this place. The swamp gives me the creeps." A second voice chimed in.

"Jesus you three are a bunch of pansies." A third added and started to chuckle.

"Alright, alright. Well you won't have to put up with us much longer. There's no need for you to come with us to New Orleans, I think we can handle transporting them while they're asleep." It was the first voice again.

"Hold the fuck up Doug!" It was number three, at this point I was pretty sure that he was the same guy I'd served at Merlotte's earlier. "You still gotta hold up yer end of the bargain! I ain't leavin' till I get my payment!"

"That's fine. You can drain them tomorrow before we leave, it'll be less trouble that way. Just don't take to much, we need them well enough to talk and repent if they choose." Doug agreed.

"Yeah, fine, whatever. Just turn the fucking movie back on."

I chanced another look through the window. A lamp had been turned on, illuminating a fairly bare room, nothing of much consequence. I was, however, able to get a better look at the men that inhabited it. The man who was now standing and holding a cell phone, whom I presumed to be Doug, had light hair and wore a pair of pleated khaki pants and a short sleeved button up shirt. Two of the other men in the room wore similar outfits, my guess was that these three were the FotS contingent. But Mr. I Hate Hot Pockets didn't look anything like them. He was dressed in heavy jeans, work boots, and a generic tee. He was also the one who had asked about blood. It seemed that the FotS had hired a drainer to help with the dirty deed, I guess it's always better to have the help of a professional.

The men turned off the light, settled back onto the couch and started up the movie again. I sat back down on my heels and looked over at Tori who seemed to be deep in thought now. I knew the feeling. A few moments passed before her head snapped up. She pointed at the woods that surrounded us and beckoned me to follow as she made a mad dash into the cover of the trees. I hope she had a plan. I followed her and stood up straight to stretch as soon as we were completely hidden.

"We gotta do something tonight. If they leave tomorrow, we not be able to follow them." I had been trying to work this out in my head for several minutes now, so I knew where we stood.

"Don't worry. I've got a plan." She had a broad smile on her face now. I had a feeling I should be scared.

**A/N: Please Review! I really wanna know what you guys are thinking so far.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Well I'm a woman of my word. Here's your second update today. You can thank me by reviewing!!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Southern Vampire Mystery Series.**

"Do you think you can untie the vampires without my help?" I didn't like where this was going. She better not be ditching me with the "I'll run and get help" kind of plan.

"I think so. Why?"

"Because I'm gonna get those guys out of the house. When they're gone, you go inside and get the vamps." She was toeing off her shoes and taking off her jacket…._oooohhhhh_.

"Ok. I can do that."

"Kay, just meet me back at your house later. I'll probably be too tired to change back." She was removing the last bits of her clothing now. I tried to be respectful and look the other way, but I couldn't help but stare at her abs. _I want those._

I pulled my eyes away and busied them by looking to make sure the men were still in the house. The lights were still off and the four brains inside were still focused on the TV. As I continued to watch the house, I heard the distinct sound that I had heard many times before. Almost like a thick stew being stirred. She was changing.

The noise stopped and I turned around to check on my companion, fully expecting a lion (like Sam had chosen) or some other large predator. I jumped back a little in shock and may have let a little squeak escape my lips in surprise. It's quite possible I also peed just a little in fear and shock, but I'm pretty sure that incontinence is excused, if not expected, when facing a large Velociraptor…a la Jurassic Park.

I stood there for a few moments, a little afraid to move. Tori (I forced myself to remember it was still her) took a step forward and nudged me a little on my shoulder with her snout. That broke the spell. I giggled a little before focusing at the task at hand.

"Ok, I'll stay here so they don't see me. You go work your magic." I gave her a smile and a wide berth to pass me and make her way to the house. I stepped a little closer, but stayed hidden behind some bushes. Something told me that I didn't want to miss this.

Tori was perfect. She didn't make a sound as she softly strolled up to the window we had previously been snooping through. From the lights coming from the window, the movie was still playing. From the screaming of the actors, I could tell that this was probably the perfect time to interrupt. Apparently Tori felt the same way.

She slowly lifted one of her tiny arms up to the screen and slowly brought it down, dragging her claw along it to reveal a long gash. Through this, she was able slip her head, and a good portion of her neck, into the room full of men. They didn't seem to notice.

From my vantage point, all I could see was the back of Tori, her legs in a wide stance and her tail swishing back and forth leisurely. I didn't see her move much, but the next moment, the quiet night was interrupted by a loud noise somewhere between a screech and a honk that came from Tori. This was immediately followed by screaming, swearing, and the sound of several things breaking and falling. Only a few of the shouts were actually clear enough for me to understand, but I got the general idea.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!"

"GET OFF ME! I'M GETTING OUT HERE!"

"IS THAT REAL!"

"CALL 911!"

At this point, Tori had removed her head from the window and hopped around to the other side of the house. On this side of the house was an old screen door that Tori made short work of, jumping right through it and into the room with the men. I couldn't see anything now, but I didn't have to wait long before the screaming moved from the back of the house, where the men were, towards the front and eventually out the front door.

All four men torn out into the drive and hurried to their cars. Tori wasn't far behind, but I could tell she wasn't trying too hard to catch up, content with chasing from a distance. Mr. I Hate Hot Pockets scrambled for the truck and jumped into the driver's seat, barely closing the door before speeding down the drive, throwing gravel up as he went. The three other men were headed for the van when the one that I recognized as Doug stepped over and tripped one of the other men running with him. He scrambled to stand up but the other two men were already to the van.

"What the heck Doug?!"

Doug and the other man had gotten into the van at this point, but he opened the window as he was driving off to answer his fallen comrade.

"To sacrifice yourself for others is a great deed in the eyes of the lord!" he shouted before pealing out down the road. The man on the ground got up and sprinted into the woods.

Tori stopped and looked at me before jogging into the woods after him. After a few moments of silence I stepped out of the woods and headed for the house.

**A/N: Review and tell me your favorite mythological or extinct animal!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So, I'm sorry for the wait on this one, there's been some pretty entertaining stuff going on here and I couldn't find the time to write. I hope you enjoy this chapter because there aren't too many left. Please Review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own SVM, that honor belongs to Charlaine Harris.**

The inside of the house was more or less what I had expected it to be after Tori's stunt. The couch was overturned and the lamp and TV were smashed on the ground. The door had been broken off its hinges and the floors and walls all had long scratch marks on them. _Well done Tori._

The living area of the house was small, now that I was inside I could see the rest of the living space and small make-shift kitchen that was mostly made up of an old refrigerator and a microwave. Only one door, other than the front and back doors, led off of this area. Here, again, could I see Tori's handiwork. The door had once been held closed by two large deadbolts, now, the door was split in half, leaving the deadbolts still locked and in place, but also allowing half the door to swing freely. _Again, nicely done Tori!_

Before stepping inside the room I checked again and found the two voids that had been there before, they didn't seem to be moving around at all, but that was to be expected. As I squeezed through the half open door I found myself in a room that was equally as bare as the rest of the house. A lone overhead light allowed me a perfect view of the room that housed two large wooden boxes. The only other thing in the room was a medium sized duffel bag in the corner, it was open and I could see a few wooden stakes lying inside. _Lovely. _I drew my attention back to the two makeshift coffins.

_Shoot. Which one do I open first? What if they attack me? They don't know I'm not part of the fellowship. _Ok, enough of that. They were in pain and I was standing there worrying about myself. I made my way to the space between the two boxes and lifted the lid of the first one.

Inside was not entirely a surprise. The vampire's hands and feet were tired together with silver, around his chest was another chain of silver that held his arms to his body. I turned my attention up to his face to find his mouth duct taped and light brown hair falling into his blueish-green eyes. The same eyes were staring up at me and burning me with fire and fury. The chains rattled as he tried to reach for me, I took a step back. _Ok, looks like we're be having a little talk before the silver comes off._

In an effort to save time and not have to repeat myself, I went to open the next coffin so they could both benefit from the speech I was about the give. Inside this coffin, however, was a surprise.

"Pam!" She was much in the same state as the other vampire, but I quickly bent down to rip of the tape from her mouth.

"Sookie, it's a pleasure to see you again." She grimaced a little and tried to raise her arms to me. _I can take a hint._ I reached down and started to peal the silver from around her wrist. I could help but wince a little at the smell of the burning flesh and deep wounds that were left behind. I made my way down to her feet as she rubbed her wrists. When she was free, I started to work on the man's feet while she went to the duffelbag in the corner and retrieved some work gloves to help untie the man's hands.

"Sookie, this is Jordan. He's the second of the area three sheriff." Pam was just pulling off the tape from Jordan's mouth as she said this.

"I don't think I've ever been more happy to see a human before. Sorry about before, I thought you were one of them." He was sitting up now and had an accent I couldn't place. Maybe eastern European?

"Pleasure to meet you." I gave him a bright smile and little wave.

"Yes, well, you know I love small talk; but could you perhaps tell me where the men that took us went to?" Pam had already peeked out into the other room and was now standing next to the door with her arms over her chest.

"OH! Yeah, Tori chased off one into the woods. One of them sped off in a green pick-up and two are in a white van. But I don't know where either of them went. But they've only been gone for a few minutes." I felt bad that I didn't have a better description for them.

"Perfect. I'm hungry, Jordan, how about we see if we can find a snack?" Pam's fangs had run down and she had a devilish smirk on her face.

"Love to." Jordan was up in a flash and standing next to Pam, who glanced over at me again.

"Do you have a way to get home Sookie?" The fact that Pam was thinking about me only endeared me to her further, I knew I always liked her for a reason.

"Yeah. No problem. Don't worry about me." I assumed the car was still out by the road.

"Good. Go home. I'll call you later." She turned to leave, but thought better of it. "Oh, and Sookie, I won't tell Eric that you've been playing vigilante if you don't tell him that I got kidnapped by those fuck-head bible thumpers." She gave a little smile and a wave before disappearing faster than I could see.

Something told me that I didn't want to just sit there and wait for more FotS or anything else to show up. Taking Pam's advice, I got up and wove my way around fallen furniture and broken doors to make my way outside. Emerging out of the back door, I walked over into the woods where Tori had shed her clothes. I picked all the pieces up and dug around in the pockets of her pants until I found the car keys. Making sure I hadn't missed anything, I headed down the driveway and found my way back to the road and my car.

Rather than allowing anything the opportunity to go wrong, I hopped inside and locked the doors as I started the car to make my way back to Bon Temps. I didn't listen to the radio on the way, I thought maybe if I listened hard enough, I could hear if Pam and Jordan had caught up to their victims. But no such luck. The drive passed quietly as I easily found my way back to the familiar roads of my home town. I passed by the bar that was now closed and dark and thought of how I would pay Terry back. Maybe I'd invite him over for dinner some night…Sam too. Before I knew it I was listening to the sublime sound of my own gravel driveway crunching beneath my tires.

Pulling around the back of the house, I found Sam's truck waiting for me. After turning off the engine I reached for my cell phone to confirm my suspicions. Three missed calls, all from Sam. I stepped out the car with what I'm sure was a sheepish expression.

"Hi Sam. To what do I owe this pleasant surprise." He was sitting on the back steps playing with his keys and scowling.

"Don't give me that Sook. Where the hell have you been? I called you three times. Tori too!" He didn't stand up, but he did look over at me as I approached. He did not look happy. _Jesus Christ Sheppard of Judea, I try to do something good and everyone bites my head off for it._

"Sam, I'm sorry I left work and didn't answer your calls, but I won't apologize for why I did it. Me and Tori followed some drainer that was working for the fellowship. He and some other guys had two vampires tied up with silver. Tori and I had to save them. One of them turned out to be Pam!" I didn't mean to yell, but by the time I reached the end I realized how it all sounded and knew I needed to defend myself.

"What the hell were you thinking cher?!" Sam was up now and came over to give me a hug.

"I had to. I couldn't just let them hurt whoever they saw fit. I had to help." He released me and we both went to sit down on the steps.

"Christ. So where's Tori? Is she ok?" He was rubbing his face with his hands now and his words came out slightly muffled. I couldn't help it when I was reminded of Tori, I laughed. It felt so good that I couldn't stop it and double over in my hysterics to let my head rest on my knees. When it finally subsided, I turned my head to find Sam staring at me like I was crazy.

"Sam, Tori is perfect. She went Jurassic Park on their butts. I'm pretty sure at least one them peed himself he was so scared. She chased off one of them into the woods, but she said she'd meet me back here and that she may be too tired to change back." I gave him a little smile and turned to let my forehead lay back on my knees.

"Fine. Let's go inside and wait." We both stood up and went into the kitchen. Sam took a seat at the table and got us both a glass of tea.

"So what happened to Pam?" Sam still didn't seem happy, but at least he was talking to me.

"She went with the other guy, Jordan, to hunt…" I was stopped by the phone ringing. I stood up to answer it and Sam followed me with his eyes.

"Hello?" I was pretty sure I knew who it was anyways.

"Sookie. So glad to hear that you made it home safely. I thought I would call to let you know that our little situation has been taken care of."

"Um, that's great Pam. Did you by any chance run into Tori? I'm starting to get a little worried about her."

"Hm, was she the adorable little dinosaur that had the last man cowering up in a tree?" Rare though it was, I'm pretty sure that I detected amusement in Pam's voice.

"I believe so. Did she seem ok?" I didn't think the man would be able to hurt her, but I was worried none the less.

"Yes she seemed fine. She trotted off somewhere after we helped the poor fellow out of the tree." _Yes, I'm sure they were very helpful._

"Oh, great. I hope she doesn't have any trouble finding her way back. Are you off to Shreveport?" I figured she wouldn't be calling if she was actually stopping by.

"Oh yes, I've missed quite a lot of work tonight, I need to catch up before dawn. As a matter of fact, I should be going. Don't hesitate to call me if you have any more trouble from our friends at the fellowship, there's always room for dessert." A click at the end of the line told me that Pam had hung up.

"That was Pam, she said that Tori was fine and is on her way back here." I had turned to Sam to find him leisurely pacing back and forth in the kitchen with the tea still in his hands.

"Relax Sam, let's go wait in the living room. Watch some TV or something." I took his arm and led him out of the room and over to the sofa. I switched on the TV and found an old movie on TCM and settled down to wait for Tori.

It didn't take too long, only about forty-five minutes before I heard scratching on the window. I looked over to Sam who also had a smirk on his face. We both got up and went out to the back yard. Waiting for us was my new favorite animal, which was really my friend. She looked over at us from next to the window and proceeded to do what I supposed was a kind of victory dance; she hopped a couple times on one foot then switched to the other, all the while waving her little arms around and turning in a circle. She seemed satisfied when Sam and I had to hold onto each other to support ourselves in our fit of laughter.

She stopped and walked over to the foot of the stairs that Sam and I were both standing on.

"Tori, I'm sorry, I can't let you inside like that. Your talons'll scratch up the floor and I can't imagine the tail would maneuver too well around my furniture." I felt really bad to say this, but then I thought of Gran's china and felt better about my decision.

She gave me a short nod before settling at the foot of the stairs and resting her head on the top step. In an effort to make her more comfortable, I went inside and grabbed my hideous quilt off the back of the couch and one of the throw pillows. Outside, I laid the blanket over her huge form and set the pillow under her head. She gave what I hoped was a contented sigh.

"I'll wait here till you're asleep and you change back so I can carry you in." Sam said to her as he took a seat next to her. She leaned up and took a playful nip at him before resting her head back on the pillow.

"Sam, can you handle this? I'm exhausted, I really need some sleep." I hated to ask it of him, but it had been a long night.

"Sure Sook. You go on. But tomorrow, you both are going to explain to me just what all happened tonight." I thanked him again and went inside where my comfy bed was calling my name. I didn't even bother changing my clothes or turning down the sheets. I just flopped onto the top of my quilt and let my mind wander; eventually setting on the thought of how great my guard dog was on this particular night. And then…oblivion.

**A/N: This was a bitch of a chapter, my longest one yet!**

**Sorry, no fun question of the day this time. Instead I'll ask your opinion. I have a vague idea that could turn into a sequel to this story if you all want to see some more Tori, or I could just write it as something completely non-related to SBB. So what are your opinions? Do we like Tori? Or do I send her away?**

**Remember: True Blood starting TONIGHT! YAY!**

**P.S. I want to say thank you for all the people who are reading this story and telling me they like it. A story is completely useless without an audience and I'm…flabbergasted…that there are people out there who are reading this and liking it. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Thanks.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Wow, I'm sorry it took so long to get this one out there. I have nothing but pure laziness to blame. I even meant to get it out earlier today, but I got distracted by a couple episodes of Weeds (LOVE IT!). I knew it would be the last chapter so it was kinda bitter sweet to write it. As you know, this is my first fanfic, so let me know what your thoughts are now that we're done. Please don't be afraid to criticize or give me tips, I want to know what you think! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Sookie Stackhouse books. All rights belong to Charlaine Harris.**

Sam had kept his promise of grilling me and Tori the day after our little adventure. I had woken up to find Tori in her bed and Sam on my couch. We had all sat down at the kitchen table with coffee and homemade cinnamon rolls (because everything sounds better when there's a fresh pastry in your hand). It had taken a good two hours before Sam was satisfied that we hadn't left anything out and we wouldn't be doing it again.

That had been three days ago. Nothing much had changed. Tori still helped out at the bar, looked for a job, and lived in my house. I still worked as much as I could, today being no different. Sitting at the table with my coffee I found my mind bombarded with thoughts of the past week and my unfortunate acquaintance with various members of the undead.

My bi-nightly phone call from Eric had turned into a nightly call, with occasional multiple calls in one day. Apparently, such emotions as excitement, or fear, or even amusement can be felt through a blood bond from a distance; including the exact distance between Bon Temps to Las Vegas. I learn something new every day. He somehow managed to see through every lie I used to make up for my emotions, eventually the truth came out. Pam wasn't happy. I'd gotten a threatening call about fifteen minutes later. I simply reminded Pam that I had saved her from being a FotS s'more and she became slightly less hostile.

My daydreaming was interrupted by Tori bounding into the kitchen.

"You'll never guess what just happened!" She had taken the seat across from me but continued to wear a huge smile and jitter a little as she sat there.

"You're probably right. But you could just tell me?" I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm as I took a sip of my coffee.

"Ok. So you may not know this, but shifters can be extremely competitive and vain. As an outlet for our egos, we have websites where we post videos or stories of cool stuff that we do when we're changed. Apparently, Sam posted something about me and my ability to change into a dinosaur. There's even a picture that he snapped with his camera phone while I was sleeping."

"Why would Sam do that?" I was a little curious as to why Sam would take a picture of his technically naked sister without her knowledge.

"I don't know, I guess he was proud of his baby sister or something. Anywhozers, some director in Hollywood heard about the post from a friend of a friend or something like that. And I just got a call from him. He wants to do another Jurassic Park movie and he wants me to play the raptors in the movie!" She was up from her chair now and hopping around the table squealing. I may or may not have joined in for a few minutes before we took our seats again.

"Wow Tori! This is so great! I'm so proud of you!" I honestly was proud, with maybe a dash of jealous, at her opportunity.

"Oh god! I'm so excited. They want to start working on it soon. They asked me come out and see what I could do, maybe even train some other shifters to do it too. They want me to leave in a couple of days. I know this is short notice, but I couldn't bring myself to say 'no'. I hope you don't mind Sookie, I really appreciate you helping me so much." A little crease had formed between her eyebrows as she said this. I reached over to grab her hand.

"Don't be sad Tori. This was the whole point of you living here. You were looking for a job. And now you found one! I really am excited for you."

"Well you know, the first thing I do when I'm settled out there is invite you to come for a visit. Maybe even take a trip up to see that vampire of yours." She wiggled her eyebrows and stood up. "Oh I have so much to do! I need to call Sam and maybe even my ex, to gloat a little, and I need new clothes, and new luggage. Ah! I have to get started! I'll see you later Sookie!" With that she darted out of the kitchen and back to her room.

The lunch shift at work passed fairly quickly. Most of the time I watched as Sam made his rounds to tell everyone that his sister was going to be in a movie. It was adorable how much he cared about her. There was a fleeting moment when I was sad that Sam and I had never become more than friends, he would have been a great father. Ok_, that's enough of that train of thought._

I made it home just as the sun was starting to set and went inside to fix some dinner. Tori wasn't home, but she had left a note that Sam and her were going out for dinner to celebrate and wouldn't be back until late. It felt nice to have a quiet house again. No buzzing brains or people watching loud and obnoxious television. I ate my dinner and toed off my work shoes to lay down on the sofa, throwing my arm over my face to enjoy the silence.

"You really should lock your doors." I screamed and flipped myself off the sofa, landing gracelessly on the floor. I looked up to find Pam sitting on back of my couch picking lint off the quilt that was folded over it.

"Pam! Why didn't you knock? You really scared me!"

"I figure if I continue to scare you, you might get better control over your emotions." Really? This again?

"Is Fangtasia really that boring that you need to hold a silly grudge to entertain yourself?" I sat up from my position on the floor and folded my arms on the cushions of the couch to look up at her.

"Do you have any idea what I got in the mail yesterday? A security system complete with flood lights and motion detectors. I bet Bill was pretty fucking pleased himself when he thought that one up. He even offered to get me a guard dog. Asshole." I giggled a little at the image of Pam installing flood lights with a bulldog by her side. That got me a death glare.

"Ok. I'm sorry. But it's really not my fault. I'm not the one who kidnapped you." I gave her a little pout to insure my innocence. "Is that the only reason you came by tonight?"

"No. I actually wanted to let you know that we recovered the other vampires that were captured and held outside of New Orleans. I must say, I'm impressed that little Douglas lasted this long, only yesterday did he give us the important information we needed." Well this was a revelation. I had just assumed that they killed the men they'd tracked down the other night.

"Oh, that's good I guess."

"Indeed." She finally looked up from the blanket and gave me a sly little smile. "You know I'm actually off tonight. Is your scrumptious little housemate home?"

"Sorry, no. She's out celebrating with Sam, she got offered a part in the next Jurassic Park movie." I crawled back up to sit on the sofa now that we had moved into more pleasant conversation territory.

"Pity." She sighed.

"But I do have a few seasons of Buffy on video and a couple of bloods in the fridge. And if you play your cards right, I might just try out my new sunfire red nail polish on you." I gave her a warm smile and patted the cushion next to me.

"Why not? I'll get my own drink while you get the tape going." She walked off into the kitchen as I set up the TV. She walked back in and relaxed into the other side of the couch as the show began.

We sat like that until Tori came home and joined us for a few more episodes. I felt sad that soon Tori would be gone soon, but maybe I would take her up on her offer and visit her. Too soon, I couldn't fight off sleep any longer and excused myself for the evening. As I turned to go to my room I took one last look at the couch to see Pam setting down her blood on the table and scooting a little closer to Tori, who was oblivious to the change. Pam looked up and gave me a quick wink before I closed the door to my room and crawled under my warm covers. I listened to the events transpiring in the other room for a few minutes before letting myself be consumed by sleep.

The sky was still dark outside when I woke up. I knew something was wrong but I couldn't place it, so I continued to lay on my side looking out the windows. I didn't have to wait long before I knew what was different. A cool arm snaked around my waist and pulled me into the hard chest of the man behind me. A sighed and snuggled back into him before closing my eyes again as he nuzzled my hair and breathed into my ear…

"Hello, my dear one."

**A/N: **_**Oh no she didn't!**_

**Oh, yes, I did. I just ended it.**

_**Well is there gonna be a sequel? **_

**I haven't decided.**

_**What would we have to do to get a sequel?**_

**Why, I do believe that reviews are the only way to accomplish that hefty goal. You see, I'm currently not sure if I want to write a sequel or just start an entirely different story. The only thing I have decided is that I want to keep writing. So we'll all just have to be patient while I decide, but feel free to try sway me in one direction or another. **

**Next order of business: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I seriously love you guys who have read and like my story. I think I got teary eyed when someone added my story to their favorites. So thank you!**

**Finally: Did anyone else laugh their asses off at the overly dramatic scene in the True Blood season premier when Bill and Sookie declared their love to each other? CHEESINESS! **

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!!**


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